The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1887-11-08
Tao Rilo Police

thOrities be not extended beyond the
confines of your metropolis? Surely
we in Hilo are beyond dobht specially
favored in possessing a police force
whose status and morale require no
encOmium of praise-a force the men,
hers OF which are ever to be found de-
voting their hours of service in repos-
Ed attitudes of "dolce far niente" on
the benches in front OF the stores of
our Chinese and Portuguese brethren,
who, 80 long as the guardian of the
public peace guard their portals, fear
not to dispense the fiery, amber liquor,
yclept Jersey lightning" or the
crystalline Sand-Paper Gin, to their
thirsty patrons. And,
AT the close OF the day. when the hamlet is still
And noriais the sweets Of forgctfuincss proves"
may our official Cerberus be found on
the same bench, night after night,
through the agency of a shore whose
resonant melody wakes the distant
bchoes of the Halae hills. Happy the
fortunate drunk introduced to these
guardians of the public peace. Help
less in his intoxicated condition, he
becomes the happy recipient of deli
cate attentions addressed TO him,
through the medium of q lot of clubs,
in the unmistakable currency of blows
delivered by these champions of PROV
ess. What matters it then how
bruised and bleeding the victim, has
not the esprit de corps been main
tanned?
And if thievery and roguery are be
coming matters of daily comment,
LIQUORS sold under their very noses,
burglaries committed under their very
eyeE gambling and opium smoking
almost openly INDUCED in by the
Mongolian, estray animals promenad-
ing the streets, and their impounding
Anspicuous only by its rarity; we
say again what matters it so long as
we report for service on clear days,
resplendent in white moleskin, and
on rainy days cutting the proper caper
In uniforms of blue, attending for the
payment OF our monthly salaries with
most astonishing punctuality, fire.
quently the absence of our superiorS,
i'm the person of Sheriff or Deputy,
rarely commented upon, for the reason
that il makes but little difference we
would ask once more, are we not doing
enough, and if not, what are you
going to DO about it?
However such is the benighted
state of mind of some individuals, that
all do not express the same feeling of
contentment over such a happy condi-
ton of affairs, and curious to relate
these disconnected sOreheads form the
intelligent quota OF the community,
the taxpayers and associates in a
certain reform movement begun and
sCnsummated a short time ago. They
SaSou that police force should prove
4 rE.,1sl Il ~
efficiency they mean not alone prop
ping up the leaning tendency of a
corner post, or neatness of personal
appearance, or punctuality in drawing
pay, but 4 proper, honest performance
whether il be in the day or night.
Outside of a few petty gambling
cases or affrays, though in the ma
joriSy of instances of even these, the
Participants have gone clear owing to
ignorance of their cases by the prose
cutting authorities, crimes committed
through the district these three years
past. not Bakers dozen can be
counted up, wherein the guilty parties
were hunted down and convicted, and
then, largely through the efforts of
the victimized, seconded 10y an able
ID incorruptible police justice whom
the community could Ill afford to lose
and without whom things would beat
an unfortunate pass.
Latterlv, crimes have been commit
ted with unpleasant frequency and
"wh0 next" can easily be asked of
ones neighbor. The outlook is very
encouraging when posse of officers in
eudeav0ring TO close up gambling
den near the town, chose for their mo-
dus oDcraudi the throwing of stones
against the building, thus practically
warning the habitues, who in place OF
submitting turn the tables upon their
would be captors, obliging some to
seek the protection Of the plantation
authorities, and scattering the remain
der somewhere through the district.
10 Then again, the store of one of our
prominent business men is burglariZed,
the thieves obtaining entrance by cut
ting hole through the floor, getting
what they went in for in the shape of
considerable booty, probably under the
nose Of the policeman supposed TO be
stationed close by. When such cases
are reported to the proper authority
the Hawaiian vidocQ. asks the ques-
ton, 'who do YOU think did it?'' OF the
case in noint, not an official has thus
far visited the place to make inquiries,
nor has any Investigation been set
afoot.
These are but q few of the many in
dices TO the superlative wOTthleSsnesS,
not To say ViciOusnesS of our present
police force. The mere discharging of
a member only to supersede him by
anok aer as bad Is no step in the direc-
tor Of reform; clear headed, coura-
-geous, ineorruptible men are wanted,
not gamins OF boys picked up out
Of the street.
The present system of appointing po-
licemen by officials other than the sher-
if Is radically wrong, and just so long
as their appointment to, and retention
in office is dependent upon the humor
or patronage of such official, thus rem
derfng them practically independent
Of the sheriff, to whom alone they
should be responsible and who should
be made responsible for them, just so